(Carrie Coon as Agnes White in Bug, written by Tracy Letts, directed by David Cromer. ©Matthew Murphy)

by Tim Leininger

NEW YORK — In the fall of 1993 the science fiction television series The X-Files exploded onto the scene with its dark, daring themes of government conspiracies and paranoia. The series was a mega hit as it fed off the thrills of conspiracy groups that crept through the underbelly of society that was once considered to be a scant subculture. Throughout the 1990s and into the early 2000s that culture of conspiracy seemed like fantasy entertainment perpetuated by a microcosm of the populace. But as the internet age came to fruition, conspiracy wasn’t just mere entertainment fodder. With access to communicate to billions of people around the world, people could spread anything with the anticipation that what was read could be believed. What was entertaining lost its allure as misinformation and disinformation spread, creating a broader subculture of people who are either mentally ill, or just lack the mental skill set to discern fact from fiction, or worse: fact from truth.

            These are the people Tracy Letts dared to delve into with his play Bug, originally produced in 1996, only three years after The X-Files premiered, in London, before coming to the United States in 2000 and having its off-Broadway premiere in 2004 at the Barrow Street Theatre, running for 11 months. The play has now been revived at Manhattan Theatre Club’s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, directed by David Cromer (Dead Outlaw, Good Night, and Good Luck), running through Feb. 8.

(Carrie Coon as Agnes White, Namir Smallwood as Peter Evans in Bug written by Tracy Letts, directed by David Cromer. ©Matthew Murphy)

            Set in a motel room on the outskirts of Oklahoma City, the play follows Agnes White (Carrie Coon), a cocaine addict divorcee whose ex-husband, Jerry Goss (Steve Key) has just been let out of prison. While on a bender with her friend R.C. (Jennifer Engstrom) snorting coke and smoking crack while drinking wine and vodka, she meets Peter Evans (Namir Smallwood). Peter seems like a nice enough guy at first, a little paranoid, but a far more reasonable person than her abusive ex. But as their relationship grows, Peter proves to be far worse than anything Jerry could ever dream of becoming, as his paranoid schizophrenia comes to the foreground, progressively getting worse, believing that the motel room is infested with microscopic bugs. Agnes, who is in no state of mind to deal with Peter’s psychoses, falls prey to his irrationality as bugs become government conspiracies and she quickly falls into the abyss with him.

            30 years ago, Bug may have seemed like a gruesomely entertaining psychological thriller. Now, it feels like the sad inditement of a country stocked with tweets and reels of people pursuing conspiracies about celebrities drinking the blood of children under Disneyland, Flat Earthers, vaccine deniers, and The Great Replacement. It’s not that these conspiracies haven’t been around. Some have been around for decades or longer. It’s that people, so desperate for something to believe in, they’ll fall for anything. When people who are that desperate, as Agnes is here, and they have access to something that gives them purpose, no matter how insane, they’ll latch onto it to feel of some importance again. It becomes their cult and faith.

(Carrie Coon as Agnes White, Namir Smallwood as Peter Evans in Bug written by Tracy Letts, directed by David Cromer. ©Matthew Murphy)

            That’s why Bug is haunting today. Not because there is any truth to what Peter believes is happening, but because sometimes it feels like there are so many more Peters and Agneses than there used to be, or if the numbers are relatively the same, they’ve become empowered to come out of the woodwork to infect us with their madness.

            To pull off a play of such psychological intensity, it requires actors who are brave enough to embrace the madness for two hours eight times a week. Coon (Edward Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Ghostbusters: Afterlife) is absolutely primal at times as the coked out Agnes, especially once she falls under the lure of Peter. Smallwood (Pass Over, Pipeline) wisely doesn’t play Peter as a manipulator, but as someone who truly, passionately believes in what he believes. He doesn’t try to convince Agnes the room is full of bugs because he wants to control her, but because he is so committed in the belief that it is true, that she must believe it to be true also, like a religious zealot looking to convert someone with the fervor of a 1950s touring evangelist.

            Letts is a playwright who isn’t afraid to have his characters bare all on stage, and there is a lot of soul baring, and body baring, here. Cromer does an excellent job of making sure it never feels exploitative or exhibitionistic, working with lighting designer Heather Gilbert to texture the nude scenes in a way that doesn’t call it out, instead making it feel part of the atmosphere of the play. Cromer also does a great job with Coon and Smallwood to make sure that Agnes and Peter know the levels of risk that is around them with what they believe versus what the people around them think. They can only hide so much once the room is filled with bug traps, sprays, and other various paraphernalia, but even then, when Jerry and R.C. show up, they keep a degree of self-preservation that supersedes their desire for “truth.” It’s smart directing.

(Steve Key as Jerry Goss, Namir Smallwood as Peter Evans in Bug, written by Tracy Letts, directed by David Cromer. ©Matthew Murphy)

            Takeshi Kata’s scenic design is superb and three cheers for the deck crew, under the helm of Stage Manager Christine D. Freeburg, who have to conduct two massive scene changes, one during intermission, moving what seems like hundreds of small props for the second act, and one large set piece change.

            Bug is a hard watch. It is so brutal in its portrayal of what untended mental health issues can look like, it can be a challenge for audiences. It requires them to look into eye of what people we may care about are going through when they fervently believe the bold-faced lies in front of them. As well produced as this production is, it may be, though, in this exhausted world of conspiracies, too much for some to bear.

BUG

PRODUCTION

Written by Tracy Letts; Directed by David Cromer; Scenic Design: Takeshi Kata; Costume Design: Sarah Laux; Lighting Design: Heather Gilbert; Sound Design: Josh Schmidt; Hair & Make-up Design: J. Jared Janas; Dialect & Vocal Coach: Gigi Buffington; Intimacy Coordinator & Fight Director: Marcus Watson; Casting: JC Clementz; Additional Casting: Caparelliotis Casting & Kelly Gillespie; Production Stage Manager: Christine D. Freeburg

CAST

Carrie Coon as Agnes White

Namir Smallwood as Peter Evans

Randall Arney as Dr. Sweet

Jennifer Engstrom as R.C.

Steve Key as Jerry Goss